Marine Le Pen: Muslims in France 'like Nazi occupation'

Marine Le Pen, the leader of the French far-Right, drew heavy criticism after
she said Muslims praying outside were like Nazi occupiers.

Marine Le Pen, leader of the Far-right National Front in FrancePhoto: AFP/GETTY

10:32PM GMT 12 Dec 2010

The daughter of Jean-Marie Le Pen, the outgoing leader of the National Front, told a rally that ten to fifteen places inFrance where Muslims worshipped in the streets were occupied territory.

"For those who want to talk a lot about World War II, if it's about occupation, then we could also talk about it (Muslim prayers in the streets), because that is occupation of territory," she said at the gathering in Lyon.

"It is an occupation of sections of the territory, of districts in which religious laws apply. It's an occupation," she said at the rally that was part of her bid to take the party leadership when her father steps down in January.

"There are of course no tanks, there are no soldiers, but it is nevertheless an occupation and it weighs heavily on local residents," the 42-year-old noted.

The comments sparked condemnation from politicians from President Nicolas Sarkozy's ruling UMP party and from the opposition Socialists and the Greens.